[GJM] Fw: "Capitalism" and "Appropriate use of Technology"

[E. Crockett]

From:  Dr. Ulysses S. Crockett, Jrs.

To:  All


--- On Wed, 6/18/08, mary rose <maryrose333 at att.net> wrote:

> From: mary rose <maryrose333 at att.net>
> Subject: [GJM] Fw: "Capitalism" and "Appropriate use of Technology"
> To: FixGov at yahoogroups.com, "Discussion Forum for Global Justice" <discussion at globaljusticemovement.net>
> Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 11:06 AM
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: ecotort at gn.apc.org 
> To: jacklancaster at sbcglobal.net, et al  
> Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 5:24 PM
> Subject: "Capitalism" and "Appropriate use
> of Technology"
> 
> 
> >capitalism could help many things including 
> > environmentalism
> 
> Unlawful abuse of "virtual" money/capital is not
> (necessarily) to be confused with capitalism....
> ....when the "True Cost" of an item or service is
> reflected in it's "virtual monetary cost"
> there will be green capitalism... 
>  -people competing (and co-operating!) with one-another to
> benefit the whole world environment.....
> 
> >We need to seriously consider what is "appropriate
> technology" 
> 
> "Appropriate Technology" or
> "Permaculture" could be expanded into "The
> appropriate use of Technology for the benefit of Humankind,
> as intended by its Inventors".
> 
> mary rose: 
> As I was walking across my office the other day, a big red
> neon sign flashed in front of my eyes which read: FROM
> AGRICULTURE TO PERMACULTURE. And, I do believe that we will
> be forced by events now occurring to make a permanent move
> from ag to perm
> 
>   And David Eisenberg founder and director of DCA
> (Development Center for Appropriate Technology is one of
> those leading the way in this effort. www.dcat.net.  Note
> that Builders without Borders is doing a demo in
> Washington, D.C. with a straw bale structure conducted by
> Builders Without Borders.   
>   http://www.dcat.net/about_dcat/announcements.php   The
> Straw Bale movement emphasizes permaculture as well as
> mapping the territory to see where it is appropriate to
> build what.And other things such as  preservation of
> wetlands, along with  many other concepts pertinent to
> going green nd sustainable. Other appropriate technology to
> be considereed is: composting toilets, recycling of
> "greywater," use of solar cookers, and, I feel
> that bicycling should be included here. The
> "cooperatives that Bill Ellis speaks of, both
> cooperative ownership endeavors in what is referredt to as
> "intentional communities" need to be included
> here and, particularly food cooperatives, need to be
> incorporated into the permaculture concept as well.  
> 
>   Here are some links to more information on some of these
> concepts: 
>   Solar ovens/cookers:  http://solarcooking.org/,   
>   Composting toilets:  http://www.compostingtoilet.org/
>   Recycling grey water:
> http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/plant_culture/gray_water_for_gardens.html
>   Straw bale house construction:  www.caneloproject.com
>   Rainwater Catchement:
> http://www.rain-barrel.net/rainwater-catchment.html  
> 
>   Along with the straw bale movement, I have previously
> posted information with regard to the use of paper in home
> and other structure building.  This website "Living in
> Paper 2008" is an excellent source of information on
> this new way of building:  http://www.livinginpaper.com/ 
> It is imperative that we stop using wood with which to
> build structures. We cannot afford to cut down any more
> forests, that serve as the lungs of the Earth, in order to
> house ourselves.  One of the main priorities is to
> "reforest". The model for reforestation is
> offered by the Gaviotas Village model in Columbia that we
> have previously examined:  
> 
>   A book review of the book: Gaviotas: A Village To
> Reinvent the World from Amazon.com reads: 
> 
>   In the early 1970s, a unique community was founded in the
> los llanos region of Colombia. Located north of the Amazon
> rain forest, this region is an expansive savannah, sparsely
> populated and generally considered uninhabitable. Gaviotas
> originated out of the belief that the current state of
> urban expansion and poverty and the continued depletion of
> natural nonrenewable resources could not be sustained and
> that the future required people to learn how to live in
> harsh, inhospitable environments and to do so in an
> ecologically sound and sustainable manner. Journalist
> Weisman tells the story of a remarkable and diverse group
> of individuals (engineers, biologists, botanists,
> agriculturists, sociologists, musicians, artists, doctors,
> teachers, and students) who helped the village evolve into
> a very real, socially viable, and self-sufficient community
> for the future. The people of Gaviotas today produce
> innovative technologies (solar collectors, irrigation
> systems, windmills, and hydroponic gardens) that use the
> environment without depleting or destroying it. While some
> of their creative endeavors have not succeeded, even the
> failures tend to spawn ideas for future successes. Weisman
> does a fine job of detailing Gaviotas's evolution and
> placing it within the larger global historical context. The
> story he presents is wonderful testament to human
> creativity, commitment, and effort toward building a
> socially viable and environmentally sustainable future.? 
> Another article on this book may be found at:
> http://www.dharma-haven.org/five-havens/gaviotas.htm, 
>   OK, let's look at how to raise food in small areas
> such as suburban yards.  
>    
>   A concept that fits right in with Permaculture is that of
> the Edible Landscaping movement which is sweeping the
> country here in the U.S. and moving abroad as people
> realize the necessity to get rid of their wasteful green
> lawns.  Checkout this website: How to Landscape with Edible
> Plants. http://www.plantea.com/edibleland.htm  Of note are
> two outstanding items on this website 1) if you can't
> for some reason compost, you can order organic T-bags to
> use as a growing agent. 2) Be sure and check out the
> featured article on the site which is a speech given by
> actor Tom Hanks at a Vassar graduation ceremony on
> "The Power of Four."  
> 
>   One of the best books on gardening is the now
> out-of-print:  Gardening For The Future of The Earth by
> Howard Yana-Shapiro, Ph.D. and John Harrison. Included in
> this book are passages written by Bill Mollison, the
> founder of the Permaculture Movement. As I have indicated
> previously, this book is now out of print, but there are
> used copies available through Amazon.com 
> http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Future-Earth-Howard-Yana-Shapiro/dp/0553375334
>  One fo the great benefits of this book is that of examining
> "how we can each take action to reverse teh damage that
> has been done has been (and is continuing to be) done to our
> most important gardening resources: our soil and
> water."  The authors speak of "the critical
> environmental and spiritual problems facing us and describe
> how individuals rooted in the garden and around the home can
> make a positive difference. The authors also note that in
> addiiton to gardening we can make a difference through
> "using our wallets to influence how our food is
> grown."  They note that changes in the past have been
> particularly influenced by groups at the ground roots level
> gathering together in sufficient numbers that the voices
> cannot be ignored. 
> 
>   Let's talk about Food Coops:  Ecological Designer,
> Jim Bell, has a lot of experience with food coops and
> recently designed and helped construct an award-winning
> food coop building in San Diego, Calif.
> http://obpeoplesfood.coop/, http://obpeoplesfood.coop/.,
> http://obpeoplesfood.coop/  For a free copy of Jim's
> book: "Achieving Eco-nomic Security on Spaceship
> Earth" and others on solar energy, go to
> www.jimbellob.com   Jim uses a homemade solar oven with
> which to bake chocolate chip cookies and pass them out
> every year on San Diego Earth Day. A cardboard box lined
> with aluminum foil can easily and economically be assembled
> for use as a solar oven. Here's a URL with good
> instructons for how to do it yourself. :
> http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/radabaugh30.html
> 
>   OK - let's go to Gardening and Your Health:  An
> excellent book on this subject is Dr. Eva Shaw"s:
> "Shovel It - Natures Health Plan,"  because it
> connects the dots between eating healthy foods and raising
> them as a way of creating holistic health. One of the major
> benefits of gardening is  stress reduction as it provides
> for exercise, meditation and connecting with the energy of
> the Earth. Hence, reinforcing the immune system in so many
> ways.  This book combines "cutting-edge medical
> research" with the secrets of gardening for the first
> time. Gardening can:1) help avert a heart attack, 2) lower
> blood pressure, 3) lower cholesterol levels, 4) strengthen
> bones, 5) deal with chronic fatigue syndrome, 6) reduce the
> use of pain killers and anti-depressants, 7) and reduce
> stress, among other things. .  
> 
>   Here's some excellent articles entitled: The Immune
> System:  http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/immune/immune1.htm,
> and the Immune System:  A New Paradigm:
> http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/immune/immune2.htm#The%20Immune%20System:%20A%20New%,
> and Y20Paradigm,   This article begins with the idea that
> your immune system is: :  
>   "a circulating consciousness. I know this is hard
> for you to believe, but the new paradigm states that the
> mind is not limited to residing in the skull." And,
> some astounding information is going to follow here that is
> mind-blowing as it contradicts everything we have been
> taught for years as conventional medical practices have
> taken over natural healing modalities.  But this is also
> what has caused Dr. Bruce Lipton to write in his book,
> "The Biology of Belief" that the leading cause of
> death today is "iatrogenic illness," that is:
> "illness resulting from medical treatment."  A
> ten-year study of government statistics (Null, et al, 2003)
> concluded that "iatrogenic illness is actually the
> leading cause of death in the United States and that
> adverse reactions to prescription drugs are responsible for
> more than 300,000 deaths a year." More on this later.  
> 
>   Now, let's talk about "money" which
> everyone seems to feel is the root of the problem. And
> perhaps it is in large part, but what seems more obvious is
> that it is our "perception" about money that is
> the real root cause. And we seem to be in between a rock
> and hard place here with the ruling elite having control
> over the monetary system, and as was pointed out in an
> article yesterday, the Federal Reserve is legally mandated
> to "make the economy grow" so until we can change
> the laws on this, we need to figure out how to mitigate the
> circumstances.  
> 
>   And, all of the above are ways that we can regain our
> power through taking matters into our own hands, and
> creating a peaceful (r)evolution. But to make this a more
> potent movement, we can also create local currencies which
> are not subject to the laws of the national and
> international monetary system; and which provides for
> funding at the local level, while keeping the currency in
> the local community so it cannot be sucked off by
> the.corporations.  And, as previously noted, there is a lot
> of information on this provided by Thomas H. Greco,
> http://beyondmoney.wordpress.com/  This website now
> entitled:  Beyond Money,  provides for a video on "The
> Ten Principles of Economics"  
> 
>   Now, this is not going to take place by voting someone
> into office -- it can only take place by we-the-people
> enacting it at the grassroots/ground level. The sorts of
> things that need to be done in order to protect
> we-the-people, are not on the agenda of those in control of
> the government, be they in office now, or about to be
> elected (?) to office.   
> 
>   I have not covered many things that we can do, with
> regard to "energy resources," because this is a
> whole big subject that would make this much too long.  But
> I will be addressing this in the near future. Many of us
> will not be able to actively pursue the energy issue since
> converting to a new system is still out of reach pricewise,
> but we can still do things that will lower the energy bills
> both for the home and auto scene. But all of us, no matter
> where we live can begin gardening.   
> 
>   So, it is up to us to "be the change we wish to see
> in our lives." 
> 
>   with love and in gratitude for all that we do together. 
> 
>   mary rose  
> 
>    .       
> 
>         
> 
>   :       
> 
>   . 
> 
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